Alyssa Dagenais
EDC102H
Personal Expertise Statement
Music has been an important part of my life ever since I was very young, but I never thought that it would develop into my future career. My parents have pictures of me at about a year old banging on the keys of our old keyboard. I remember that one of my favorite things to do when I was little was listen to my mom play Disney songs on the piano. Not only did I love the songs, but I loved that she was playing them all by herself. I thought she was so talented. Though I was always interested in music and the piano, I did not begin to actually take piano lessons until fourth grade. Even then, I did not know how interested in music I would become.
It all started when my younger brother started playing soccer. At the time, I thought that I wanted to play soccer too. Luckily for me, my mom recognized that I had no athletic ability long before I realized it. As a substitute for soccer, my mom suggested that I start taking piano lessons. A woman from my church offered to teach me. She was trained in flute, but, like most music teachers, she could play the piano as well. She taught me how to read music and find the notes on the keyboard. I caught on quickly and for a while I played piano all the time. I loved it immediately.
Eventually, all the practicing became tiresome. After six years with my piano teacher, there was not much more she could teach me. Though she was a sweet woman who taught me so much about the basics, piano was not her primary instrument so I could no longer grow while taking lessons with her. I was no longer challenged at all and that was really frustrating to me. I thought of giving up piano lessons since I had a strong understanding of the fundamentals. But I didn’t give up. Instead, I switched teachers, which was the best decision I could make in terms of playing the piano.
My new teacher provided much more of a challenge. I became motivated once more when I realized he would not rest until I could play each song to the best of my ability. Nothing was good enough for him. This pressure made me realize that I was not as good at playing the piano as I originally thought I was. I was stressed and lacked self-confidence, but I did not give up. The pressure made me practice more so that I could live up to his seemingly unreachable expectations.
In high school, after years of piano lessons and some time playing in the school band, I realized I wanted to be a music teacher. With this decision came even more pressure. Unlike most programs in college, to get in to a music program, you must audition. So along with getting good SAT scores and a high GPA, I had to perfect three songs to use as audition pieces. Again, I realized that I was not as good at piano as I thought. I pushed harder and harder, practicing hundreds of hours to prepare for the auditions. The months leading up to my auditions were some of the most stressful times of my life, but I was doing something that I loved.
My piano teacher urged me to apply to his alma mater, the University of Rhode Island. With shaking hands, I started to play my pieces on the grand piano in the concert hall of the Fine Arts Center in front of a whole panel of music professors. Though I was nervous, the professors and older music students I met that day made me feel at ease. By the end of the audition, I knew that I had nailed it. It was over a month before I received the letter in the mail, qualifying the fact that I am an expert at playing the piano. My acceptance letter to the URI music program proved to me that no matter how critical I am of myself, I am a very good piano player.
My hope is that I can share my expertise with others. After four years of college, I will become a music teacher. I want to be able to inspire my students just as my piano teachers inspired me. Not only did they teach me the skill of playing the piano, but they taught me about hard work and perseverance and gave me a love of music. Playing the piano is something that I love to do and I’m good at it. I want to give other students that self-confidence that comes with excelling at something so they can have as positive an experience with music lessons as I have always had.
EDC102H
Personal Expertise Statement
Music has been an important part of my life ever since I was very young, but I never thought that it would develop into my future career. My parents have pictures of me at about a year old banging on the keys of our old keyboard. I remember that one of my favorite things to do when I was little was listen to my mom play Disney songs on the piano. Not only did I love the songs, but I loved that she was playing them all by herself. I thought she was so talented. Though I was always interested in music and the piano, I did not begin to actually take piano lessons until fourth grade. Even then, I did not know how interested in music I would become.
It all started when my younger brother started playing soccer. At the time, I thought that I wanted to play soccer too. Luckily for me, my mom recognized that I had no athletic ability long before I realized it. As a substitute for soccer, my mom suggested that I start taking piano lessons. A woman from my church offered to teach me. She was trained in flute, but, like most music teachers, she could play the piano as well. She taught me how to read music and find the notes on the keyboard. I caught on quickly and for a while I played piano all the time. I loved it immediately.
Eventually, all the practicing became tiresome. After six years with my piano teacher, there was not much more she could teach me. Though she was a sweet woman who taught me so much about the basics, piano was not her primary instrument so I could no longer grow while taking lessons with her. I was no longer challenged at all and that was really frustrating to me. I thought of giving up piano lessons since I had a strong understanding of the fundamentals. But I didn’t give up. Instead, I switched teachers, which was the best decision I could make in terms of playing the piano.
My new teacher provided much more of a challenge. I became motivated once more when I realized he would not rest until I could play each song to the best of my ability. Nothing was good enough for him. This pressure made me realize that I was not as good at playing the piano as I originally thought I was. I was stressed and lacked self-confidence, but I did not give up. The pressure made me practice more so that I could live up to his seemingly unreachable expectations.
In high school, after years of piano lessons and some time playing in the school band, I realized I wanted to be a music teacher. With this decision came even more pressure. Unlike most programs in college, to get in to a music program, you must audition. So along with getting good SAT scores and a high GPA, I had to perfect three songs to use as audition pieces. Again, I realized that I was not as good at piano as I thought. I pushed harder and harder, practicing hundreds of hours to prepare for the auditions. The months leading up to my auditions were some of the most stressful times of my life, but I was doing something that I loved.
My piano teacher urged me to apply to his alma mater, the University of Rhode Island. With shaking hands, I started to play my pieces on the grand piano in the concert hall of the Fine Arts Center in front of a whole panel of music professors. Though I was nervous, the professors and older music students I met that day made me feel at ease. By the end of the audition, I knew that I had nailed it. It was over a month before I received the letter in the mail, qualifying the fact that I am an expert at playing the piano. My acceptance letter to the URI music program proved to me that no matter how critical I am of myself, I am a very good piano player.
My hope is that I can share my expertise with others. After four years of college, I will become a music teacher. I want to be able to inspire my students just as my piano teachers inspired me. Not only did they teach me the skill of playing the piano, but they taught me about hard work and perseverance and gave me a love of music. Playing the piano is something that I love to do and I’m good at it. I want to give other students that self-confidence that comes with excelling at something so they can have as positive an experience with music lessons as I have always had.